I/T/C/V - CHAPTER 8 - BANGKOK, BABY!

i was finally out of india, but not without the final chaos of leaving kolkata. crowded airport lines, pushy people, a generally inexperienced traveling populace, and a penchant amongst indian men to remove their shoes on planes made for a quintessential indian send-off.

seriously. the dudes can't keep their feet in their shoes. and chances are, their feet are filthy. if you have a foot phobia, india is not the place for you.

needless to say, at this point i was glad to be leaving india and heading to a place i knew and loved: THAILAND!

after a red eye flight from kolkata to bangkok, i arrived super early in the morning and took a taxi to my hostel. i can't say enough amazing things about Kama, the place i stayed in bangkok. half hostel, half boutique hotel, all awesome. seriously - stay there. it might be expensive by thai hostel standards, but it's downright cheap by american standards, and paying $20/night for a private room and bathroom in a super nice hotel is fine by me.

i love thailand so much. sure, everybody stares at the westerners, just like in india. but they stare with curiosity and deference, rather than intrusion and inspection. they smile. they shy away. they laugh. they say hello. men and women. children too. and the food? don't get me started on how amazing and cheap thai food is. i love everything about thailand, so it was a welcome sight to see after india. i went to thailand for my first time in 2013 and fell in love. it was good to be back.

unfortunately, most of this bangkok trip involved me getting sick with a cold, no doubt from the stress of india and the relief of being in thailand. i think my immune system was on high alert throughout india, and when it relaxed in thailand, i got sick. but i couldn't have picked a better hotel to be sick in. Kama took great care of me. and i did manage to get in a tiny bit of sightseeing. i HIGHLY recommend using the river taxis in bangkok. not the tourist one, but the locals one. it's cheaper, and it takes you just about anywhere. the river connects the whole city, and skirts around the congestion of bangkok traffic. if you're willing to walk a little bit, it's totally worth it to travel along the river instead of tuks tuks or taxis or uber. that being said: if you have an appointment or need to be somewhere via car, use uber. it's cheap as hell, no cash changes hands, you get a receipt and there is no haggling. totally worth it.

so, yeah... i was in bangkok for three days getting my thai legs, before taking a bus south to the port town of chumphon, where i would take a ferry to koh tao and the other islands in the gulf of thailand. so, per the usual, here are some picks instead of lots of words. enjoy!

for some reason i found this to be really funny to me. i picture a father and son from the deep south. kid: "pa? what's that?" dad: "well i'll be damned.... you know what that is, boy? 'ats a dang PIER!" .... get it? that's a dang pier? nevermind. you had to be there.

not a very common tourist spot, but it was my local river taxi stop. buddha straight CHILLIN.

the approximate location of Kama. it's in a residential neighborhood, away from the chaos of central bangkok but still close enough to get to by water taxi. the hotel is a block away from a long street with tons of local food stalls. most meals cost about a dollar or less. and it's the best food you will ever eat in your life. no words necessary: just point to what someone else is eating and prepare to be amazed. thai people are so damn nice. explore! try! go for it!

don't get me started on thai banana pancakes either. crack, i tell you. crack.

no big deal. just a six foot lizard chilling in a park in downtown bangkok. there were two american girls walking by who got super freaked out and thought it was a crocodile. i told them it was a monitor lizard and they shouldn't be afraid. nerd, for the win!

next up: CHAPTER 9 - THAI ISLANDS

thanks for reading these posts. i've never really written a travelogue like this before. i hope it's somewhat entertaining and hopefully a little inspirational to just get out there and see the world. charge the flight to your credit card and deal with the consequences later. life is for living.

happy steeming, everyone! you are amazing!